I hope you all see what I did there, with the blog post title. It's important to me that you appreciate how clever I am.
The loss of my camera/phone could not have been more tragically timed; of all of the places to take photos of, the Amazon offered the most interesting subjects and beautiful landscapes so far. But oh well… perhaps relying on others to capture the majesty of the wildlife around us and allowing myself to focus on just relaxing and soaking it all in was ultimately to my benefit. Jeanine (a member of our tour group) had a great camera with a zoom lens, and her photos are far superior to what mine could have been anyhow, so I thank her profusely and give her 100% of the credit for the Amazon photos included here and on Facebook.
In case anyone is considering an Amazon tour themselves at some point, here's the tour company I went with (Mashaquipe), based on a recommendation from someone I met during mountain biking, and I couldn't be happier with the decision: http://www.mashaquipeecotours.com/quienes-somos/
Day One: Hiking the Selva
We were told that we could leave valuables and our big backpacks at the Mashaquipe travel agency (since we’d be back in two nights, we only needed to pack enough for the next 48 hours or so), but I didn’t have a daypack large enough for even just 48 hours’ worth of things, so I had to take my entire Tortuga backpack with me. This is a detail that will matter in a little bit…
We walked two blocks from the agency to the shore of the river, and hopped into a very long canoe-like motorized boat, and set off into the river (rivers Beni and Tuichi to be exact) for a 3-hour ride to the Mashapique eco-lodges in Madidi National Park. (We = the tour guide (Luis), a couple from Holland (Rose and Tim), a woman from Germany (Jeanine), and myself.)
On the way, Rose shared with us a story that is basically one of my worst fears. One morning recently, she had put her foot in her shoe, and felt something inside. She tried to shake whatever it was was out of her shoe, but nothing came out, so she stuck her hand in and pulled it out – and “it” was a tarantula. *Shudder* We did encounter a tarantula one night at the Mashaquipe lodges, but it was on the roof of a hut, very still and non-threatening. I think I'm truly less afraid of tarantulas (and less afraid in general) after those fear exercises I tried out with the ayahuasca...
About halfway into our river journey, we stopped to hang out for about an hour with a local/native Amazon family and crush some sugar cane into a delicious drink. They had this massive wooden contraption with three barrel-like spheres connected by gears, and operated with a huge log lever that was used to crush the cane. Here's a visual picture to complement and validate the word-picture I just made for you:
Three of us pushed the lever around in a circle, which got the barrels spinning, and then another person shoved the sugar cane in between two of the barrels. Another person received and redirected the end of the sugar cane from the other side in between the next two barrels, and an astonishing volume of juice just squeezed out of the sugar cane and flowed through a wooden channel at the bottom from a spout into a bucket. When the bucket was full (after about 7-10 canes) we were each handed a bowl made from half a shell of some tree fruit or nut. You know those coconut bras that people wear when they are dressing as Hawaiians for Halloween or luaus? It was like drinking out of one of the cups of those bras, but natural (not plastic), obviously. Some people thought the sugar cane juice was too sweet, even when we cut it with a bit of lime juice, but that was probably because they were European; as an American, I can handle my sugar water just fine, thanks. I thought it was delicious, in fact, and would have gladly had seconds!
This family we visited was part of a larger community of about 45 people, with one family residing every 100 meters along the river. At the end of the community was a shared space with a school, a church, and a soccer field (the essentials). There was a green parrot in the tree that our guide told us was named Lorenzo, who he spotted again when we were trekking in the forest later that afternoon!
So we got back in the boat, and kept cruising down the river for another hour and a half-ish, until we reached the Mashaquipe lodges. Here’s where things got tricky. So we’re in the dry season, which means that usually, there water is low enough for there to be dry land to walk across to get to the lodges. In the rainy season, the water is high enough to take the boat to the edge of the land where the lodges are. But since there was a lot of rainfall the night before, there was about a foot of water covering the very pebble-y land that we were supposed to walk across – so, definitely not enough to take the boat, but also not dry enough to walk across. At least not with our shoes on.
So we all had to take off our socks and shoes, roll up our pants, grab a stick to help us balance, and wade across this water that I’m estimating was at least 50 feet across, over a ton of very uncomfortable stones. And I had to do this with a heavy backpack on, a backpack that contained my laptop – a fact I was very aware of during this river crossing. “If I lose my phone and my laptop in one day, I swear to God I am catching the next flight home…..” Fortunately I made it across without falling in the water, but I was hella cranky after that.
We got settled in our lodges (I shared a room with the German woman, Jeanine), which included beds fully equipped with mosquito nets that were so beautiful they made me feel like an Amazon princess. We had some lunch, and then set out on a 2.5-hour afternoon hike on some forest trails with Luis. Highlights included seeing Lorenzo the green parrot (allegedly…. I was the only one who wasn’t able to spot him, even with the binoculars), seeing a TON of these so-called "walking trees" (which I nicknamed in my own head "broom trees" because that's what they looked like to me), and learning about a tree with tall narrow roots called the Communication tree, named for the fact that when you bang the root, it makes a big wooden gong sound that resonates long distances and people can find your location accordingly.
Walking trees / Broom trees
Communication Tree
Camouflage ON POINT
(this bird didn't move the entire time we stared at it)
At one point, Luis’ super-powered Amazon-native ears picked up that a herd of wild pigs (“chanchos”) was nearby, and he led us down the trail to a place where they were likely to pass by. Sure enough, we saw at least 20 of these things cross the trail approximately 50 feet away, which was incredible. I never thought I’d get so close to wildlife in the wild! Also, thank goodness for zoom lenses.
Day Two: Monkeys, Macaws, and Jungle Naps
The next morning, we got up at 4:30am to start hiking at 5, and we were able to spot a tiny monkey in a tree near the lodge. Adorable. Luis had convinced our group the night before that we should get up earlier than the usual program usually requires, and hike (rather than take the boat) to a special macaw viewpoint, because the macaws will be easier to see at that time in the morning. He was right. The hike was long (3 hours), and we found out later that we’d missed an epic breakfast of pancakes, cheese empenadas, and eggs back at the lodge, but it was well worth it. Not only did we get to see the sunrise at this gorgeous viewpoint overlooking the rainforest, but we also saw SO many macaws!! (Macaws, by the way, are monogamous, which is why they are seen so frequently in pairs. Totes adorbs.)
The macaw viewpoint had a tombstone at it, with words written in Hebrew and the dates 1985-2007. When I asked about it, Luis told us that an Israeli traveler had fallen off the cliff when taking photos. He was born the same year I was; 22 years old when he died. I’m not really sure what to make of this other than use it as a reminder to be thankful I’ve made it to 31. Not everyone does.
On our hike between breakfast and lunch, Luis managed to spot a spider monkey, and took off in a mad dash off the trail in pursuit of it (they are his favorite animal and he gets pretty pumped when he sees them). We managed to keep up with him and watch the spider monkey swing between trees for a few seconds; it disappeared too quickly for anyone to get a photo, unfortunately.
We got to our lunch site in the forest a little early, so we all took naps, and I learned that jungle naps are amazing. Then we ate lunch, and napped some more. Jungle hiking is exhausting!
Around 3:00, we hiked another hour or so to the river, where a boat met us, filled with logs for building a raft. It was mostly Luis and Tim, with Jeanine helping as well (Rose and I figured we would be most helpful by staying out of the way…), but “we” totally made a functional raft and then used it to float back to the Mashaquipe lodge! It was one of the most surreal experiences I’ve had so far. I kept wanting to say “you guys… we are floating down a river in the Amazon rainforest on a raft – how is this real life??” The combination of cool water and hot air felt wonderful, and it was just the most pleasant way to wrap up a long day of hiking in the Amazon.
At dinner, our group ate at a table with two young women from England – Kendal and Anna – who are the most adorable and charming people I have met in my travels so far. I love them. Kendal asked what book I was reading, and when I said All the Light We Cannot See, she and Anna started giddy-squealing like crazy, and when they calmed down, we talked about what a beautifully written book it is. When Kendal heard I’d lost my phone, she said, “Oh, crumbs!” and then Tim said “Bollocks!” and I said “pish-posh!” It’s very fun to tease Brits about their adorable ways of saying things.
Day Three: To the Pampas
After breakfast, we took a 2-hour boat ride back to Rurrenabaque, and then hopped in a car for 3 hours to get to the Pampas, which is a marshy flatland area of the Amazon where wildlife is much easier to spot along more narrow rivers. It was SUPER relaxing to just hang out in the boat all day, cruising down the river, pointing at all the capybara (giant guinea pigs), caiman (crocodiles), turtles, and various birds.
Capybara!
(I asked Luis is people ever tried to domestic them as pets -- cuz i totally want to do that -- and he was super confused by the question.
I guess that's not a thing here. Or anywhere.)
Turtle conga line!
Caiman!
(These came in the 'green/gray' and 'black' variety -- the black ones being much larger and a little more dangerous.)
BIRDS IN GENERAL!
(I don't know the names of the different species of birds, sorry)
In the rainy season, people sometimes get to swim with the pink dolphins, but we’re in the dry season so that wasn’t part of our adventure. We did kinda see a few of them make brief appearances above the water, but they didn't do big out-of-the-river jumps or anything so no cool photos of those ones.
In the afternoon, we tried fishing for piranhas. I had no luck whatsoever. Everyone else caught at least one... but they threw them back in the water for benevolent vegetarian reasons. It was a little frustrating though, because I totally wanted to try fried piranha (anything we kept, the kitchen staff would cook for us to have with dinner). Fortunately, another group caught like 15 of them (how they did this, I have no idea -- there seemed to be very little skill involved, since if there was, I obviously should have caught something, yes?), and they shared their catch with everyone else. Yay!
Piranha fishers, foreground to background: Tim, Rose me
Jeanine's catch!
Pampas sunset
Day Four: Pampas Sunrise Breakfast with Caimen Friend
Again, Luis convinced us that we should get up early to see what the river is like while it’s still dark, and to catch the sunrise at a special place. We got in the boat at 5:00am, and were able to see so many more caiman lurking in the water. (Their eyes would glow when the flashlight shined on them. Kinda terrifying, actually, how surrounded we were...) We also spotted a howler monkey and at least five little yellow monkeys (my favorite!)
Male howler monkey
Yellow monkeys! (SO. DANG. CUTE.)
For breakfast, Luis picked a spot right next to a caimen (he is completely unintimidated by them):
After breakfast, we made our way back to the lodge (as the other groups were just heading out for their river tours), and snagged some hammocks for lounging/reading before our last meal with Mashaquipe. After lunch, they drove us back to Rurrenabaque.
Rurrenabaque
In Rurrenabaque, the #1 priority for the hostel search was that it had wifi so I could figure out what to do about my phone and get the next leg of the trip planned out. Jeanine told me that the place she’d stayed at, El Curichal, had wifi, though it was unreliable. Unfortunately, there would be no wifi better than “unreliable” in the jungle, so that’s the place we (Jeanine, Kendal, Anna, and I) all went. The El Curichal hostel had a pool, a bar, a pool table, and hammocks, all for about $7 a night, so that wasn’t too shabby.
Also, I am obsessed with that French bakery in Rurrenabaque. I got pastries (yes, plural) there every morning. They also had great coffee. Is it weird that I want to go to France more now just because of that, or are pastries pretty much the #1 tourist attraction there anyway?
When Kendal, Anna, and I were having lunch the next day, a man tapped on my shoulder, and when I looked up, it was Shir (the Israeli I’d hung out with in Copacabana and La Paz)! It was great to see him – familiar faces mean so much when a person is travelling alone. It turned out he had just checked into the same hostel as well, so the four of us got to hang out for the next 24 hours or so.
A French woman who was bartending at the hostel and I bonded the first night I was there when an old Britney Spears album started playing. I was sitting at the bar with my computer, and we were both into it, and she wanted me to sing along, but you guys – I’ve forgotten so many of the words!! Very disappointing. Anyhow, the following night, I asked her if she wanted to check out a karaoke place with me down the street, and she was totally on board. However, when we got there, it turned out that they did not have any songs in English, and I have failed terribly with the goal I set my first week in Colombia to learn a song in Spanish so I would be prepared for this exact situation. My bad.
When it was time to leave Rurrenabaque and fly back to La Paz (it was much cheaper to fly to La Paz and take the bus to Uyuni, rather than fly directly from Rurre to Uyuni), Kendal and I took the same tiny plane together, and Anna hung back in Rurre an extra night to do an ayahuasca ceremony.
It turned out that I couldn’t get a bus to Uyuni out of La Paz the same night, only the next night, so I had an extra day in La Paz to hang out with Kendal. We did a walking tour and learned all about La Paz (most interesting was learning about the insanity of the San Pedro prison; there's a book about it, Marching Powder, which is going to be made into a movie with Brad Pitt soon, evidently. It has been added to my book list.) enjoyed a delicious vegetarian lunch and donuts together, and she helped me find a place to print out my ballot, which she was very interested to look at. (Apparently, we vote on a lot more offices/issues at one time than they do in the UK.)
I just don’t even have words for what a delight Kendal is – so sweet and readily supportive, one of those people who makes you feel like you’ve been friends for ages and you can talk to her about anything: men and dating, the political echo-chamber that social media has created, being frustrated and sad with the ridiculous pattern of losing respect for yourself when you start losing respect for someone else just because of socio-political differences, a fear of cold showers, etc. PLUS, she was packing a jar of peanut butter, which she generously shared with me, and this took the usual bread-and-juice breakfast up to a whole new level. She also gave me a ton of advice for when I go to Argentina someday. I love her. Hopefully I can reunite with her and Anna in London someday…